The Smart Shopper
The Smart Shopper gives his top tips for shopping this week...
St Patrick's day beef
Happy St Patrick's Day! In America they celebrate St Pat's in flamboyant fashion by dying the beer green and holding parades with platoons of leprechauns. This side of the Atlantic the smart shopper seeking something special should pay a visit to Mayfair butcher Allens of Mount Street. To celebrate the Saint's day, pride of place in the Allens window goes to some 21-day, dry-aged Irish beef from West Cork. Because Irish beef is predominantly grass-fed, it has a magnificent texture. "Carvery" rib £19.50 per kilo, ribeye £25 per kilo, sirloin £34.50 per kilo and centre-cut fillet £55 per kilo.
Allens, 117 Mount Street, W1 (020 7499 5831, allensofmayfair.co.uk).
and cheeses
To follow the beef, what could be better than some Irish cheeses? Paxton & Whitfield has put together an all-Irish cheeseboard which includes old favourites such as Gubbeen, Cashel Blue and Cooleeney, plus a couple of less well-known cheeses like Mossfield organic from County Offaly and Gortnamona - a soft, mould-ripened goat's cheese from Tipperary. The cheeseboard selection costs £35 or, priced individually, Gubbeen £20 per kilo, Cashel Blue £19 per kilo, Cooleeney £19 per kilo, Mossfield £32 per kilo, Gortnamona £5.95 each.
Paxton & Whitfield, 93 Jermyn Street, SW1 (020 7930 0259, paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk)
Brasserie battersea
Battersea Village has a new village shop. After a chequered history, the Bennett site to the north of Battersea Square has been transformed into a slick brasserie and oyster bar, which boasts its own wine and food shop. Piggy-backing on the new restaurant's kitchen, the shop sells breads and pastries made on site (classic white Bloomer £3), organic fruit and vegetables (three varieties of carrot, "blood", "yellow" and "white", £1.40 per 250g, black truffle new potatoes £5.50 per kilo) and fine wines. A cheese counter is also planned.
Bennett Oyster Bar, Brasserie & Wine Store, 7-9 Battersea Square, SW11 (020 7223 5545, bennettsbrasserie.com)
